21st Century: Workers' Control in the Present

Sun, 24/01/16

Who is opposed to self-management and why?

This controversy illustrates the difference between the defeated world of ideology and the vibrant and outward-looking world of action that strives to disengage from the dominant relations.

The venture of the self-managed VIOME in Greece has come face to face not only with the enemies of self-management “by nature and by stance”, i.e. the ruling class and the state, but also with the communist and anti-capitalist forces of the left, including the anarchist movement. Despite their differences, these forces seem to agree to the fact that within capitalism, self-management can be nothing more than a kind of workers’ “self-exploitation”, a form of a “collective capitalism”. From this perspective, not only has self-management nothing to offer in the direction of social emancipation,  but –even worse– it “absolves” capitalism of its obligation to create jobs and guarantee the welfare of all workers. read more »

Geographical: Era: Topic: Experiences: 
Sat, 23/01/16

Towards a radical cooperativism against the crisis of imagination: Speech at the Athens Biennale 2015-2017

A needs-based economy and a radical cooperativism can help us overcome not only the tyranny of the market, but also our own inability to imagine our welfare outside of it.

This session explored four institutions of human economy – alternative currencies, cooperativism, urban welfare and commons – and reflected on how these forms can become permanent and sustainable alternatives. read more »

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Sat, 23/01/16

The leading Greek newspaper that is run by its workers

At the 'Journalists’ Newspaper', set up after 'Eleftherotypia' went bankrupt, all 150 media workers are paid the same, the editor works for free and circulation is soaring.

At the Journalists’ Newspaper in Athens, everyone is paid the same, from the receptionist to the senior reporters, except the editor-in-chief. He works for free and lives off his pension. They don’t argue about salaries because they are also the owners of the paper, which is run as a co-operative, so everyone knows how tight finances are. In return, they get to thrash out front page stories, editorial positions and headlines without even the shadow of interference by a media baron chasing political or financial interest. read more »

Geographical: Era: Topic: Experiences: 
Fri, 22/01/16

Own The Change: Building Economic Democracy One Worker Co-op at a Time

A documentary that shows the potential of a networked worker co-op movement, created by GRITtv and TESA to help form new alliances and turn conversations into action in many communities.

The explosion of worker cooperatives in recent years has social justice organizers talking. Transitioning to a people-powered economy will require the work of many different social movements and worker co-ops have come to the center of the conversation due to their ability to address multiple issues at once. read more »

Geographical: Era: Topic: Media: 
Mon, 18/01/16

Indonesia: PT Istana, a factory occupied and producing under workers’ control

Chronicle of a November 2008 visit of PT Astana, a textile factory in North Jakarta, Indonesia, which was occupied and operated under workers' control.

Below is an account by Jorge Martin, the International Secretary of Hands Off Venezuela, on his visit in November 2008 to an occupied factory in Indonesia. The visit to this occupied factory was part of a Hands Off Venezuela tour to Malaysia and Indonesia. read more »

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Mon, 18/01/16

Seeding an Agrarian Revolution in Rural India

Aided by a local nonprofit, marginalized women farmers are growing a rich harvest of crops using age-old farming traditions.

Her farm looks like a mini rainforest, with a profusion of crops from ground level up to way above our heads.  The diversity of species and varieties is bewildering. There’s an array of jowar (sorghum or great millet), bajra (pearl millet), ragi (finger millet), red gram, green gram, til (sesame), sama (little millet), korra (foxtail millet), and a wide variety of vegetables and fruits. As we walk through this explosion of life, trying hard to avoid stepping on plants that would yield something precious, Nadimidoddi Vinodamma, softly explains her farming techniques and philosophy. read more »

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Thu, 14/01/16

Spectrum, Trajectory and the Role of the State in Workers’ Self-Management

Workers’ self-management is associated with times of social transformation. The state may chose to either restrict self-management or facilitate it so the conflict is institutionalised and contained.

Workers’ self-management and related forms of workers’ control over production is associated with periods of societal transformation. In its most advanced form it presents a challenge to capitalist property relations as part of a revolutionary process. Workers’ Councils, as a form of self-management, have occurred under capitalism but also in Communist command economy states. The relationship between the practice of self-management and the class nature of the state is not, however, straightforward.  read more »

Geographical: Era: Topic: 
Tue, 12/01/16

Spaces of possibilities: Workers' self-management in Greece

Based on empirical evidence, this paper argues that everyday practices of workers' collectives critique the existing forms of work and instead prioritize egalitarianism and autonomy.

This article focuses on the process of workers’ self-management brought about by a wave of experimentation with alternative organizational forms taking place in Greece since the beginning of the current financial crisis. The discussion is supported by empirical evidence from qualitative fieldwork conducted in three workers’ collectives. read more »

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Tue, 12/01/16

Post-Capitalist Imaginaries: The Case of Workers’ Collectives in Greece

This article looks at the collective dimension and the inherently political character of entrepreneurial activity by focusing on the case of two workers’ collectives in Athens, Greece.

This article focuses on the case of two workers’ collectives in Athens, Greece, and reflects on the transformative potential of entrepreneurial creation. I argue that these social and economic experiments are collective and essentially political. read more »

Geographical: Era: Topic: 
Tue, 12/01/16

Lines of (Dis)Continuity: Forms and Methods of Labour Struggle in Croatia 1990-2014

Tracing the continuity and discontinuity of workers’ struggles from the times of socialist Yugoslavia by observing phenomena such as workplace occupations and the engagement of civil society.

When assessing the importance of individual cases of company occupations by the workers it is necessary to take into account both the period in which such actions took place and the historical legacy of socialist self-management. The entire decade of the 1990s was permeated with strong nationalist resentments characterized by a deep hostility towards organizations, institutions and practices perceived as part of the Yugoslav socialist project. read more »

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